Yoga and Anatomy - Essay Example

Yoga and Anatomy Order No: 211801 No. of pages: 5 Premium 6530 The origin of the word Yoga is taken from the Sanskrit word “Yog” which means union. Therefore Yoga is nothing but the union of all the organ systems of the body in correlation to the consciousness of the mind. Yoga involves practicing physical exercises, relaxation, breath and diet control along with positive thinking and meditation which eventually brings about peace and harmony in both body and mind. These exercises involve physical postures called asanas together with breathing exercise techniques called Pranayama together with meditation and body and mind relaxation. Yoga entails much more than just physical positions. It is extensively used in the field of medicine in health promoting programs especially in detoxifying the body in the treatment of substance abuse, coronary heart diseases, depression and anxiety and also in Cancer and Aids. Many ailments involving the digestive system due to strain and stress are curable through Yoga. Yoga blends or weaves health and philosophy together binging about a union in a person’s body, mind and soul resulting in self – realization and better physical and mental health of the individual. Yoga’s origins are heavily shrouded in the mists of the sands of time. The “supreme science of life”, that is Yoga is thought to have gradually evolved and made known to the ancient sages of India thousands of years ago. The ancient practice of Yoga is believed to have originated from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization in the South of Asia. Yoga was initiated with the sole purpose of fostering harmony between the body, mind and the individual’s environment. The very first ancient records that were written were the “Yogasutra of Patanjali in the year 200 BC. This system involved the Eightfold path or Asthangayoga that was handed down for generations from the master to his sishya. The eight levels of Asthangayoga that are described by Patanjali are as follows: Yama - Rules for living successfully in the society. Niyama - Techniques for purifying oneself. Asaana – Exercise and Posture techniques for a harmonizing physical and mental well-being. Pranayama - Breathing techniques for harmony in both mind and body. Pratihara - Techniques for detaching the mind from the body for peace and calm throughout the body. Dharana - Concentration techniques for increasing one’s mental skill. Dhyana - Meditation techniques for mental clarity and calm state of mind. Samadhi – Reaching the Ultimate in advanced meditation techniques and higher level of psychic procedures that can be attained only after years of regular practice. Improper stretching techniques could lead to injury and discomfort. Therefore it is advisable to perform the exercises in the proper manner and using the right sequence. Some of the common mistakes during exercise include an improper warm – up session, over – stretching the limbs or muscles, not enough rest between work- outs, doing the wrong exercises and following the wrong sequence when exercising. Warming up is the starting point of the exercise session. During this session the body temperature increases the temperature of the body a couple of degrees which is very essential for making the muscles more flexible. Improper warming up may lead to injury as the muscles would be tight instead of flexible. According to Kurz, the aim of a good warm- up is to give "an increased awareness, improved coordination, improved elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and a greater efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems." Stretching and rotation exercises could easily lead to injury if the muscles and joints are not lubricated well and flexible. These exercises may cause strain to the ligaments and tendons in the body which may result in injury. Sometimes too much twists and turns may put a lot of pressure on the backbone causing stress and pain. Inverted stretches can also lead to ruptured blood vessels if carried on for too long. People who don’t utilize the right technique in the right sequence with the right amount of pressure are likely to get injured. Also using the wrong techniques and trying to perform exercises in a hurried manner could lead to injury. Yoga is essentially useful for all sports personnel as it keeps them in good health giving maximum flexibility to the muscles for enhanced performance which is of prime importance for any sports person. In sports Yoga is also used as a stress buster. The whole process includes the arousing of the serpent power (Kundalini Shakti) which is situated at the base of the spine. After passing through the various centers or Chakras while performing the various Yoga techniques, the sport person is charged with a lot of power or energy which enables him to give his best performance. This is because the hypothalamus has the capacity to regulate the hormonal secretions from the endocrine system. Yoga also helps to minimize injury during sport because the body is much more flexible and is capable of taking on any extra strain. Practicing Yoga helps an athlete to maintain better balance and poise during his performance. Yoga is also indispensable for releasing tensions and pent up emotions giving a sense of lightheartedness to the body and mind while detoxifying it .Hence Yoga should be part and parcel of any good sports person. There is nothing better than Yoga along with meditation. Meditation raises us to a higher level of consciousness in order to achieve close union with God. It can be considered as an evolution of the soul by liberating the self. Meditation helps us to recognize the true essence within the core of our being while putting to rest our disturbing egos. Meditation is also instrumental in helping us to experience harmony of body, mind and soul and also to experience perfect health, love, compassion along with wholeness and divinity of God and our environment. Yoga helps to heal hurt feelings and emotions and awakens our spirit of infinite possibilities helping us to reach a much higher level of thinking and dealing with other people in our environment. Meditation helps us to increase our level of concentration and bring an orderly pattern into our life. It cleanses our mind and keeps us in close connection with God. The anatomy of the spine is categorized into three primary segments – The first segment is the cervical which is made up of seven cervical vertebrae, the second segment is the thoracic consisting of 12 thoracic vertebrae and the last segment is the lumbar having five lumbar vertebrae. All these vertebrae are linked together to form the spine. The spine is flexible and allows movement. In case of back pain the best choice would be to do Yoga. Back pain is caused mostly due to wrong posture. Mild yoga exercises involving standing would be ideal to counteract the already misaligned spine resulting in good relief. Doing strenuous exercises when the back is already injured would heighten the problem further and cause a worse misalignment. The same could be said of the bones in the neck. Very gentle rotations and stretching is advised or it may lead to further problems and more pain. Putting too much of strain on ones bones and muscles could cause further misalignment which would take a longer time to set right. Therefore it is advisable to use the yoga techniques under the supervision of a yoga specialist in order to avoid misalignment of the spine and other bones and muscles in the body. Antagonist muscles are muscles that act in opposition to the agonist muscles. The chief characteristic of any muscle is that they can only “pull” and never “push”. Therefore the Antagonist muscles are every much needed in our body for performing this duty. These muscles work in pairs and consist of an “extensor” muscle which opens a joint and a “flexor” muscle that closes the joint. A good example of these muscles is the biceps and the triceps. Agonist muscles are also called “prime movers” and are responsible for allowing considerable movement at the joints. References: Yoga www.emedicinehealth.com/yoga/article_em.htm Yoga Exercises www.healthandyoga.com/html/yoga/yogaplan.html Stretching and Flexibility – Stretch Techniques www.ifafitness.com/stretch/stretch5.htm SCOI Presents Anatomy of the Spine. www.scoi.com/spinanat.htm Yoga for Back Pain www.backandneck.about.com/od/yogaforbackpain/Yoga_For_Back_Pain.htm Read More